


Time Crossed

by My_Coffee_Is_Hot_Chocolate



Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff and Angst, One Shot, This fandom has no soulmate AUS, and I am going to fix that with mine, even if it's bad and was written at 11 at night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29773626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Coffee_Is_Hot_Chocolate/pseuds/My_Coffee_Is_Hot_Chocolate
Summary: Claire Beauchamp was born with a red streak of hair, and scars covering her body.Jamie Fraser was born with a brown streak of hair and not a mark on him.My 11/12 pm rant about how the Outlander fandom has a lack of soulmate AUs. Come on people.
Relationships: Claire Beauchamp/Jamie Fraser
Comments: 10
Kudos: 69





	1. Chapter 1

Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp came into the world on October the 20th, 1918. And when she came into the world, hollering her head off, the doctor paused before handing her to a nurse to clean. He'd seen babies with full heads of hair before, of course. And the little girl's red tuft was something he'd seen many times. Even babies with a scar or two weren't that uncommon, but he'd never seen a newborn baby with that many scars. 

He prayed silently for the poor girl's soulmate. Whatever had happened to him, the doctor could only hope he still lived. 

Her parents held her tightly. They chose not to linger on the scars. They could do that another time. But the thought of their little baby girl's soulmate suffering so much already pained them both.

James Alexander Malcom Mackenzie Fraser, born in the wee hours of May 1st, 1721, was as bare as a baby's bottom. His mother and father were very pleased with their little boy, a brown streak through his red tinted hair. His older sister and older brother both looked over their mother's shoulders later that day, asking question after question about him. Jenny was the one to ask about his hair. 

"He's got hair like yours, Mama." She said, leaning on her mother's side.

Ellen smiled. "Aye. He'll find his own brown haired lass, and you'll find your blond lad in due time." She kissed her daughter's forehead. 

Claire went through her life. She grew up looking at the scars on her back, chest and hand. Knowing that whoever her soulmate was, the copper haired boy was hurt. And it created a determination in her to know how to help. 

As she grew older, the potions made of ground up flowers became plants she found in a book. She played nurse with her toys, and after her parents died she became downright obsessed. On the archeological sites her uncle took her to, she flitted about with the medical supplies lifted from the first aid kit. The reason for her interest faded as she got older, though. She'd began reading books on first aid at age 15, and she kept at it until she married Frank. She wanted more then anything to become a nurse.

When she met Frank, she knew he wasn't her red haired boy. And he shared no scars with her. But when they met, they were both jaded to the idea of soulmates. Frank didn't care for the concept, and Claire started to think more and more that her copper haired man was dead. And she gave up. 

She married Frank, and they were happy.

Jamie had no such worries about his soulmate. Every scar on his skin was one he owned, and it gave him such a sense of pride. He'd often brag to Jenny, who was always covered in scuffs and bruises that matched Ian. He was proud of his brown haired lass. There wasn't a mark on her, which meant she was careful and loved. He never even had so much as a bruise!

As Jamie grew older, he clung to that more and more. When he was 14, he could only picture what his lass might look like. When he was 16, and trapped at castle Leoch, he thought of her always. Hoping that the reason for his clear skin was not because she was long dead from illness.

When he was 20, he stood for her against the lashings. He couldn't let her down. He couldn't be a cowered. He refused to let her be marked for life and know he didn't at least stand tall. And he couldn't give what Randall wanted.

He couldn't give what was rightfully her's to anyone else. He would never do that. 

He pushed through the pain, the blindness, the suffering of not having seen home in years. The desperate longing for his brother, mother and father. 

But he trusted that one day, she would come for him. 

Claire, when she had time, would braid the lock of red hair. She wondered if he was lost out there. If he was some poor Belgian, a Pole trapped between Russia and Germany, a Frenchman sheltering in some building. She thought of Frank just as much, but her fantasies were filled with a red haired man covered in scars. 

For five years, she thought of him more then she had the previous ten. 

On the road to Inverness, she found herself thinking of him again. Walking to the standing stones, she wondered if he waited for her on the other side. 

Jamie was half convinced the bruise on his arm was a sign his blindness was returning. He hadn't been whacked in the arm. His shoulder yes, it was so clearly out of whack. But his forearm? Heaven knew. There was no way it was his careful lassie. 

Imagine his shock when a lass with brown hair and a red streak comes up to him to set his arm, and her arm bore the same bruise.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire makes a bid for freedom, and Jamie is completely dumbfounded.

Claire didn't notice the long stare her patient was giving her. She was much too focused on his dislocated arm to worry much, and on making sure he didn't bite half his tongue off. After that, she guessed his stare was because of her ripped dress, torn to make a bandage.

And after that, Claire assumed he was one of those boys who had never seen a woman before in his life. The fascination in his expression could only mean that. Or, he had never seen someone so clean. He was certainly filthy enough. She couldn't even tell what color his hair was in the dark and under all the grime. The single lock of hair she could see clearly was a dark brown, not unlike her own hair. 

The ride through the wood, he was attentive to her. He wrapped her up in his plaid the moment she began to shiver, and he did his best to handle the horse with care. As light dawned, she finally got a good look at him as they stopped for a rest. His hair in the sunlight was still just as dirty, though it was not brown. If she had to guess, he was a russet blond. Not unlike a red roan horse. The brown hair was a single lock, clearly his soulmate's hair. He was also much more handsome in the morning light. And he seemed much younger. He could have been no more than 21, which seemed positively childish to her. She'd seen boys his age torn to bits. 

She wondered if they were in another place, she would have been setting his shoulder in a field hospital with hundreds of other young men. 

Jamie was in complete awe. She was more beautiful than he ever could have dreamed. Her beautiful brown curls, her golden eyes, the softness of her sides and cheeks. He dinna even care she was English, all that mattered was that she was his. And by God, he was a blessed man.

And he couldn't get up a single bit of gut to actually talk to her. Even as they road on and on, he barely said a peep. What could he even say? Ask her name? Ask for her hand in marriage? He was worried it would all come out in a jumble. So he stayed quiet so he wouldn't say something that would start them off on the wrong foot. Or, wronger. He was fairly certain that what was going on was not the right foot. 

Claire looked up at the mountains, desperate to find out where she was. Praying for a landmark. The jagged rocks up ahead certainly were a landmark. The road wasn't far off. If she could just get away, she could find her way back to Craìge na Dùn. 

A chilling realization hit her as she recalled what Frank said on that road. The English army would stage ambushes here in the 18th century. If that's where she was, and when, they were in danger. 

"Stop!" She cried, before she could think. "There could be an ambush ahead."

The man at the head turned around in his saddle to look at her, and then around. Just in the nick of time, it seemed, because the sound of gunfire rang seconds later. 

Before Clarie was entirely sure what was going on, she was on the ground and hidden behind a bush. 

The most random details become apparent in crises. Claire, hiding as a wild battle was fought over her head, noticed a detail of her right hand. The scar that had been there all her life was gone. 

She stared for a moment before rational thought returned. She could get out of here. Without worry for silence, she began to flee. 

After the battle, Jamie felt faint. The throbbing pain in his shoulder matched his heartbeat, and with it went blood. He couldn't be bothered to tend to it though, because his lass was gone. Nowhere to be found. 

His panic grew as he noticed cuts appear on his hands. Adrenaline roared in him as he searched for her, Dougal and Murtagh following him. He was fairly certain Murtagh was hollering for him to come back, but the roaring blood in his ears was deafening.

Thank God she was wearing a bright white dress. She was easy enough to find, and since he was on horseback, it was easy enough to race after her. His desperation was clear, and he just about fell off as he came to a stop in front of her. 

"Sassanach!" He shouted. "Don't run away like that!" He struggled to get down, noticing how her expression was similar to a cornered deer. He tried to make himself smaller, less threatening. That proved moot quickly, though. Dougal and Murtagh came up behind her, and Jamie felt his heart cringe at how lost she looked. He desperately hoped there was something he could do. And hopefully soon. Though getting back to the castle seemed as good a plan as any.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More late night ramblings... I think that I'll do one more, just up until Claire realizes that Jamie is her soulmate.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trip back to the castle.

Claire was not pleased the rest of the ride. She was incredibly not pleased when her captor fell off behind her with a massive thud. 

She jumped off after him, her medical training kicking in as she moved his shirt out of her way. The amount of blood sent a joke of fear through her. She couldn't let this happen! She couldn't let him die! 

She looked up at the gathered men and demanded disinfectant. When that yeilded no results, she ran through names until she landed on alcohol. Naturally. She hid how little she was surprised as she poured it over the wounds in the redhead -Jamie, she thought his name was. One of the men cried his name when he fell off. 

Pouring the alcohol over his wounds handily also woke Jamie up. He tried to move away, but she grabbed his arm with her free hand. "Don't you dare move."

Shockingly, he listened. He sat perfectly still as she ripped off more of her skirt for a bandage. He stayed still as she wrapped his shoulder, which she was proud of him for. She was tempted to reach for a lolli. She'd gotten her hands on some once, and she'd handed them out to patients who were particularly brave or well behaved. She wished dearly she still had some. 

She had to help him back into the saddle, and he stayed steady as they seemingly grew closer wherever they were going. The castle coming into view, so familiar but so different, convinced her fully. A functioning castle with so many people couldn't be set up in two days. 

Jamie just saw a warm bed, a chance to rest, and a chance to sit down and talk to his lass. He couldn't wait. He'd finally found her, and one day he could bring her home. He was so excited to finally try and talk to her, once he'd cleaned up a bit. 

Turns out he would not get that chance. He was shoved by Mrs. Fitz down the halls, his lass following behind. He was forcefully sat by the fire as Mrs. Fitz busied herself with getting things to sterilize the bandages. And finally, they were both alone at last. 

Jamie paused for a moment. "... Good morning." He said nervously. "My name is Jamie. What's yours?" He met her eyes, excited and nervous. 

"Claire. Claire Beauchamp." His lass- Claire, said. She had a name as gorgeous as her, and Jamie was stunned into silence again. Rolling the name around in his head. 

Claire instructed Jamie to strip off his shirt once Mrs. Fitz came back. She was focused on boiling the water first. Then on preparing the bandages.

When she saw his back, she paused and inhaled sharply. "You…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's done. First thing in a while I actually finished. 
> 
> Go me.   
> I'm going to make a pinboard or something if anyone is interested.

**Author's Note:**

> This is so short. I apologize. I hope this inspirers people to go and make their own soulmate AUs.


End file.
